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Excavations carried out on the acropolis of the ancient city of Mytilene by the University of British Columbia under the auspices of the Canadian Archaeological Institute at Athens between 1984 and 1990 have uncovered large quantities of late Hellenistic-early Roman pottery. ¹ Among the material is an interesting group of wheelmade bowls with mouldmade portrait medallions set on the floor. Approximately 31 nearly whole and fragmentary examples have been found, all bearing the same very distinctive male portrait in profile, suggesting an honorific cult for a specific individual. Other unpublished examples found by the Greek Archaeological Service in various excavations are also on display in the museum at Mytilene. Similar portraits showing different individuals are known elsewhere in the Aegean area, including some of the emperor Augustus. ²

Our examples have all been found in one area overlying the Demeter sanctuary in a distinct stratum which we for convenience have termed the Roman Dump, a level very rich in pottery of the first century B.C. and first three quarters of the first century A.C. The level covers the area of the sanctuary with its six altars and oikos/dining room complex and was brought in presumably as a leveling device for subsequent building. Findspots are concentrated in the trenches situated over the altars and the adjacent area immediately to the west and, less commonly, to the east. The intricate details of the discussion concerning exactly when this level was laid down need not concern us here, but the important thing to note is that the material in this level was not moved any great distance. Whole and nearly whole vessels and lamps abound, as do joins creating almost complete vessels, and most of the pottery consists of large, barely worn sherds. The general conclusion about this level is that it represents material from the latest phase of use of the Demeter sanctuary and its environs. Only one example comes from another level (unpublished MYT89IP77) which contains primarily Turkish period material with an admixture of earlier types. Interestingly, this is the one example that apparently does not come from above the Demeter sanctuary itself but from an area just to the northwest from Trench 5 dug in 1989.

Let us begin with a description of the man depicted in the well of these bowls. The portrait belongs to the late Hellenistic tradition of realistic depiction which shies away from idealizing its subject. The head in profile faces to viewer's left. On the better produced examples, retouching results in a consistent portrayal of a middle aged man. The head features layered, short wavy hair with a fringe over the forehead in a fashion best described as "Roman," as opposed to the wavy romantic manes characteristic of Hellenistic portraits of Alexander and his successors or the figures on the Pergamene altar. The features are heavy and not conventionally handsome. The eyes are noticeably deepset with a very prominent brow ridge overhanging the eye. The large slightly hooked nose tends to dominate the face. The loose flesh of the face has deep creases on the cheeks and around the mouth. The ear is large and fleshy. The lips are thick; the chin is globular. The long, thick neck generally exhibits a prominent Adam's apple and a heavy diagonal crease from ear to base of neck in front.

The actual portrait can be created in two ways. In most cases the medallion is made in one piece from a mould which consists of the entire circle including the head in relief. In these cases the head is generally in fairly low relief. In a few examples, the head is made separately in a mould and then set into the central well. Often the head does not adhere completely to the floor when this method is used (e.g. unpublished MYT86IP59).

The clay and finish on the majority of these bowls (20 of 31 vessels) are interesting for their obvious links to metalwork. On these vessels there is a definite and no doubt intentional metallic quality to the gloss, especially on the interior, resulting from a slight overfiring in an oxygen-poor kiln environment. When viewed along breaks, the fabric has a distinctive layered colour scheme; the upper or interior half of the clay is medium to dark grey, while the lower or exterior half is various shades of orangey red. The thin, closely adhering gloss coating takes on a dull metallic sheen mottled in colour from light silvery grey to purplish to reddish brown. The overfiring also results in a slight brittle quality to the touch. In poorer examples the surface coating has fired almost completely matt so that the colour is a dull, dirty looking grey. The fabric for this metallic variety is generally fine-grained, slightly loose-textured, clean and even breaking but with a sandpapery feel along the breaks. The inclusions are small white lime particles and fine silver mica.

It should be noted that this sometimes striking finish is not confined solely to medallion bowls at Mytilene. It can be found on several sizes of plain bowl and on drinking cups of bell shape. Presumably the effect was reminiscent enough of similarly shaped or decorated vessels in metal to make the finish desirable despite the lack of control the potters obviously had over the final surface colour.

It is also interesting to note that the finish on the exterior of the class of bowl tends to be rough with uneven potting, wheel turning marks, occasional deep scratches and uneven gloss sometimes degenerating into thin streaks of wash (see pl. 3, right). It is likely, therefore, that these bowls were not intended for the table. The exteriors obviously were not seen on a continuous basis and the bowl is clearly intended primarily as a vehicle for the portrait medallion.

The form features a plain, low ring foot, generally ca. 0.09 in diameter. The wall slopes up from the foot at first very gently in order to create an almost flat floor area on the interior to which the separately made medallion was attached. The wall then rises more steeply creating a broad open bowl designed to show off the portrait in the centre of the floor. The shape is appropriate for the pouring of libations in any ceremonies connected with a hero cult. It is interesting to note that in some cases (most notably MYT86IP59, not included in the catalogue) the medallion seems subsequently to have been cut out of the plate in antiquity, perhaps as a keepsake or token.

On the basis of the condition of the mould from which the impression is taken, of the height of the relief, of the amount of retouching and of the quality of the firing, the plates fall into a possible chronological order. The earliest appears to be MYT87IP632 (pl. 2, left), with 90IP1045 (pl. 2, right), 87IP504 (pl. 4, left) and 87IP510 (pl. 3) very close in quality. MYT90IP1125 (pl. 5, bottom) and 90IP1046 (pl. 4, right) are somewhat cruder renditions of the type and may represent a later, debased version. Vessels such as 87IP507 (pl. 6, left) and 96IP66 (pl. 5, left) come from worn moulds resulting in marred details and the relief shows little or no subsequent retouching to enhance the depiction. The clay and slip for P507 are fired a dull grey without a metallic finish. With the exception of 96IP66, all the vessels exhibit the same fabric.

A visually much different ware is found on nine of the examples (published e.g. MYT96IP66). The clay and gloss are well known on the site in a wide range of standard tableware shapes produced in Mytilene in imitation of better quality imported products. We have given this ware the name Mytilene Sigillata since local production is attested by the presence of terracotta moulds and their products in the same fabric.³ The piece in question comes from a worn mould and the relief exhibits no retouching. Noteworthy also is the small scale of the medallion (width of head at top 0.018 compared to the normal with of ca. 0.028 for the majority of extant examples). This size discrepancy suggests a date late in the series from a generation of mould far removed from the original.

The only other anomaly in terms of size is MYT87IP632, identified as the earliest example extant, which is on a much larger scale since the width of the head at the top is 0.035. This piece may well represent the first generation of moulds fashioned from a metal prototype or created e nihilo in clay. The majority of extant examples appear to come, therefore, from at least a second generation mould after some shrinkage in size had occurred in the repeated drying process.

Two examples fall into a generic Aegean Red Gloss class of pottery to be discussed more fully in my forthcoming treatment of Roman tablewares locally made or imported into Mytilene. In the case of the medallion plates with the standard portrait, the subject matter makes it likely that we are dealing with a local product of slightly better quality than the very distinctive Mytilene Sigillata mentioned above. One example (MYT90IP305, pl. 6, right) may, in fact, represent a different person. The head appears to belong to a younger man but the lack of retouching for characteristic details such as the creases in the flesh may contribute to this effect. It is noteworthy that the clay contains much gold mica as opposed to the normal silver mica present in almost all the other examples. It is possible that this is an interloper into the series.

The series of portrait medallions in Mytilene belongs to a tradition that appears to have its origins in the ruler cults established by the successors of Alexander the Great, especially the Ptolemies. A good ceramic example from Athens has been published by Susan Rotroff. On it we see the portrait of a Ptolemaic ruler, probably Ptolemy I, set on the floor of a conical cup decorated in the Attic West Slope tradition.⁴ Also from Athens are some first century B.C. ceramic portrait medallions featuring supposed portraits of famous individuals from much earlier times, for example, Euripides.⁵ More or less contemporary with the examples from Mytilene are a small number of portrait medallions found in the excavations in Pergamon and recently published by Gerhild Huebner.⁶ Of particular note is the mould, no. 1b, illustrated on her pl. 1, identified as imported. The impression taken from the mould (no. 1a) shows a middle-aged man with hair and pose similar to the Mytilenean figure but lacking the long neck with distinctive diagonal cord, the heavy, deep-set eyes and large, bony features. This figure, who possibly also appears on the medallion illustrated as her no. 2, is tentatively identified by the author as M.' Aquilius, who operated in the area in 129-128 B.C. and may have subsequently had a local hero cult. Too little is left of no. 3 to make any identification possible; but, interestingly enough, the author sees in no. 4 a connection with a marble portrait from Mytilene identified as either Agrippa or Cn. Pompeius Theophanes. We shall return to this marble head in our discussion of the group from Mytilene itself. It is interesting that so far in all the excavations at Pergamon only these few examples of portait medallion have been found. If, as seems likely, the suggestion that they were used in ceremonies connected with a hero cult is correct, then the lack of excavation in an appropriate area in or near a shrine might explain the small number.

A mould for medallions with a diameter of 0.06 m featuring a portrait which could well represent the same man comes originally from ancient Methymna on the north coast of Lesbos.⁷ The plaster cast from the mould (his pl. 29 c) exhibits no retouching, but the basic structure of the head has close similarities with the group from Mytilene. With added strokes to indicate wavy locks, the smooth cap of hair would result in the same hairstyle. The eyes are fairly deeply sunken under heavy brows. The thick neck has a diagonal crease to indicate musculature. The author suggested that the mould was intended for the production of lamp disks, but now that the class of portrait bowls has been identified, it is much more likely that we have a mould used in their production. If the reported nineteenth-century findspot is correct, then there is evidence for the hero cultís extension beyond the confines of the town of Mytilene.

We may now turn to the interesting question of the identity of the man represented by this portrait. The findspot and the numbers suggest that these portrait bowls were created to serve the needs of rituals connected with a hero-cult in honour of the man pictured on the medallions. The portrait-type points to a date in the first century B.C.-first century A.C. Mytilene's history in the first century B.C. is noteworthy for the handful of local notables who forged close ties with the emerging power of Rome, thereby securing for Mytilene the favourable status of free city and many benefits despite her support for Mithridates' cause earlier in the century.⁸ Two of the most outstanding are Potamon and Cn. Pompeius Theophanes. Both of these men were much honoured by the citizens of Mytilene both in their lifetime and after their death and both are, therefore, possible candidates for heroization with attendant ceremonies which could include our bowls as offerings and/or utensils. The possible presence on the acropolis of Mytilene of a monument dedicated to Potamon might first incline us to see in him the model for the portrait.⁹

The finding of the medallion bowls in a level connected with the sanctuary of Demeter on the acropolis is of interest too because of the known religious activities of both Potamon and of female members of his family. There is epigraphic evidence for priesthoods held by Potamon himself and by female descendants in the cult of Etephilai (i.e., the cult of Demeter and Kore).¹⁰ Such activities make the possibility of a close physical connection between any cult activity at the Monument of Potamon (whose exact location on the acropolis is unknown) and the sanctuary of Demeter not surprising. Such evidence, while tantalizing, is not enough for a conclusive identification of the portrait on the medallion as that of Potamon.

Pl. 1. Left: Mytilene Museum Inv. 1109, Portrait head identified as Theophanes. Right: Coin of Theophanes (after Salzmann, MDA/Rome 92 [1985] pl. 105, 1 and 2; pl. 104, 3).

While there are no known portraits of Potamon with which to compare the ceramic heads, Theophanes' image does survive on coinage issued in the Imperial period (pl. 1, right).¹¹ On coins of the Tiberian period he achieves deified status (theos) to augment his position as founder, saviour and benefactor known from inscriptions.¹² It has been suggested that Theophanes too may have had a monument in his honour in Mytilene to which were attached appropriate inscriptions connected with his public career in the service of the city.¹³ There would thus have been a logical physical location for cult ceremonies in his honour. Such a monument must, however, remain hypothetical.

The coin portraits of Theophanes have been used to identify a marble head in the Archaeological Museum in Mytilene as that of Theophanes rather than Agrippa, the original attribution (pl. 1, left).¹⁴ Both the marble head and the more detailed of the coin portraits illustrated by Salzmann (e.g. his pl. 101, nos. 1, 14, pl. 104, nos. 14, 18, pl. 105, nos. 3, 4) reveal interesting points of similarity with the ceramic heads on the bowls. The hairstyle features a short, wavy layered cut with a small fringe over the forehead and the hair at the nape of the neck curling forward toward the ears. The features are heavy, with the striking deep-set eyes under a heavy brow especially reminiscent of the ceramic portraits. Deep creases on the cheek or around the mouth indicate middle age. The nose and lips are prominent. The Adam's apple is large and clearly delineated while the neck is thick and often bears a diagonal groove to indicate cords. There are enough similarities to suggest that Theophanes could be the person depicted on the medallions, a worthy recipient of honours in a shrine on the acropolis of Mytilene. Such a hero-cult would have been established after Theophanes' death, which appears to have occurred some time between 44 and 36/35 B.C.¹⁵ His descendants fell into disgrace and were murdered by Tiberius ca. 33 A.C., making it unlikely that a hero-cult would have continued much beyond that date.¹⁶ Hence our bowls most likely fall within that span of 65 to 75 years when Theophanes enjoyed a deified status among his fellow citizens.

Catalogue of Selected Bowls

1. MYT87IP632 Pl. 2, left
Est. D. Medallion ca. 0.09
Slight metallic finish mottled 7.5YR6/6-2.5YR6/2. Hard fired clay with white lime and silver mica.
Careful retouching on hair, well delineated ear, clearly differentiated details and large size suggest a date early in the series from a fresh mould.

2. MYT90IP1045 Pl. 2, right
D. Medallion 0.061
Metallic greenish grey gloss in places. Clay as for no. 1.
Excellent quality portrait.

3. MYT87IP510 Pl. 3, Fig. 1
D. Base 0.096
D. Medallion 0.06
Metallic gloss mottled purplish to grey. Clay as for no. 1.
Note crude exterior finish with unevenly made ring foot and prominent wheel turning marks on exterior.
Good quality portrait.

4. MYT87IP504 Pl. 4, left, Fig. 2
Est. D. Base 0.095
Gloss and clay as for no. 3.
Fairly good quality portrait partially preserved.

5. MYT90IP1125 Pl. 5, right
D. Base 0.091
D. Medallion 0.062
Dull metallic grey-green gloss, reddish over highest parts of relief. Clay as for no. 1.
Somewhat heavier and cruder version of the distinctive features of the face.

6. MYT90IP1046 Pl. 4, right
Est. D. Medallion 0.058
Bright brick-red gloss, 2.5YR5/6. Clay is dense with an almost putty-like appearance along breaks containing both yellowish and dark grits, white lime and much silver mica.
Features are crude and heavy, bordering on caricature but retaining the distinctive characteristics of the face.

7. MYT87IP507 Pl. 6, left
D. Medallion 0.06
Dull, matt, burned looking grey coating close to 10YR5/1. Clay as for no. 1.
Worn mould and lack of retouching result in a poorly defined, blurred portrait. Deep-set eye, thick neck and cap-like hair indicate that the same man is intended.

8. MYT96IP66 Pl. 5, left
D. Base 0.08
D. Medallion 0.05
Mytilene Sigillata with poor quality orange gloss, 2.5YR5/8, almost entirely flaked away.
Portrait from a very worn mould on a smaller scale.

9. MYT90IP305 Pl. 6, right
D. Base 0.064
D. Medallion 0.047
Matt, thin but closely adhering red gloss, 2.5YR6/8. Clay is dense with clean breaks, white lime and a fair amount of fine gold mica.
Small medallion from a worn mould resulting in blurred features. Thick neck, heavy lips, big ear and deep-set eyes are typical for the type. The clay and gloss suggest that this example may have a different source from the majority of portrait bowls. ¹⁷

CAROLINE WILLIAMS
VANCOUVER, B.C.

Pl. 2. Left: MYT87IP632 Right: MYT90IP1045	Pl. 4. MYT87IP510
Fig. 1. MYT87IP510, Fig. 2. MYT87IP504	Pl. 5. Top: MYT96IP66; Bottom: MYT90IP1125
Pl. 3. MYT87IP510	Pl. 6. Left: MYT87IP507; Right: MYT 90IP305

¹ The project is directed by Caroline and Hector Williams with funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the University of British Columbia, and private donors. We would like to thank Mme. Aglaia Archontidhou-Argyri, Director of the K' Ephoreia of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities, and her staff for their hospitality and support. Photographs for this article were taken by Hector Williams and Yiannis Asvestas. The profile drawings were executed by Sylvie Dumont. For earlier reports on these excavations see EMC n.s. 4 (1985) 225-234; n.s. 5 (1986) 141-154; n.s. 6 (1987) 247-262; n.s. 7 (1988) 135-149; n.s. 8 (1989) 167-181; n.s. 9 (1990) 183-201; n.s. 10 (1991) 175-191; n.s. 14 (1995) 95-100.

² V. von Gonzenbach, "Genius Augusti-Theos Sebastos," Opuscula (Carolo Kerenyi dedicata). Stockholm Studies in Classical Archaeology V (1968) 81-117; for a lamp with a similar portrait of Augustus, see H. Williams, Kenchreai, Eastern Port of Corinth. Vol. V: The Lamps (Leiden 1981) 16 and pl. 2, #54.

³ See Caroline Williams, Maria Toli, "Hellenistic pottery from three periods in Mytilene on the island of Lesbos," Ta Praktika thV B¹ SunanthshV gia thn Ellhnistikh Kerameikh (Athens 1990) 105-107, Pl. 62, a-c.

⁴ S.I. Rotroff, "Attic west slope vase painting," Hesperia 60 (1991) 80-81, Pl. 29, nos. 53, 57. The cup was originally published in S.I. Rotroff, "A Ptolemaic portrait in Athens," Proceedings of the 3^rd International Symposium on Ancient Greek and Related Pottery (Copenhagen 1988) 516-523. For Ptolemaic portraiture on vessels in general see D.B. Thompson, Ptolemaic Oinochoai and Portraits in Faience. Aspects of the Ruler Cult (Oxford 1973). For Hellenistic dynastic portraits on metal vessels, see P. Callaghan, "The Medusa Rondanini and Antiochus III," Annual of the British School at Athens 76 (1981) 59-70.

⁵ See G.M. Richter, The Portraits of the Greeks Vol. I (London 1965) 137-138 and figs. 762-765 (Euripides); Vol. II, 214, fig. 1377 (Aeschines?); 222, fig. 1494 (Demosthenes; also done in silver, fig. 1509); Vol. III, 276, fig. 1938 (possibly Orophernes Nikephoros of Cappadocia). See also von Gonzenbach (above, n. 2).

⁶ Die Applikenkeramik von Pergamon. Pergamenische Forschungen 7 (Berlin/ New York 1993) 21-22, Pl. 1, nos. 1a, b. 2, 3, 4; 83-87, fig. 23, nos. 3 and 4 for the profile. Note that no examples from Mytilene have the distinctive grooves around the floor outside the medallion.

⁷ H.G. Bucholz, Methymna (Mainz am Rhein 1975) 71-72, 160, Pl. 29 b, c, Catalogue no. B12.

⁸ For recent discussions with full bibliography see R.W. Parker, "Potamon of Mytilene and his family," ZPE 85 (1991) 115-129, and Robert K. Sherk, Roman Documents from the Greek East (Baltimore 1969) 143-157, 269-271.

⁹ Sherk (above, n. 8), esp. 146-157, no. 26 for documents identified as originally belonging to the monument of Potamon.

¹⁰ Parker (above, n. 8) 118-119 n. 16, 124-125 n. 34, 128 n. 47.

¹¹ See W. Wroth, Catalogue of the Greek Coins of Troas, Aeolis and Lesbos (London 1894) Pl. XXXIX, 1, no. 158 and 198, and D. Salzmann, "Cn. Pompeius Theophanes, Ein Benennungsvorschlag zu einem Porträt in Mytilene," Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts. Römische Abteilung 92 (1985) Pls. 101, nos. 1-16, 102, nos. 17-32, 103, nos. 1-8, 104, nos. 1-6.

¹² Salzmann (above, n. 11) 251-252, 257 for inscriptions from Mytilene honouring Theophanes

¹³ Sherk (above, n. 8) 269-271 and no. 51.

¹⁴ Salzmann (above, n. 11) Pl. 98, 1 for the marble head.

¹⁵ Salzmann (above, n. 11) 251

¹⁶ Salzmann (above, n. 11) 252

¹⁷ As noted above (325-326 and n. 7), a mould for our medallion was apparently found in Methymna on the northern coast of the island.